Charity clothes collections - Trading Standards Warning

South Gloucestershire Council's Trading Standards officers and neighbourhood police are warning people in South Gloucestershire to be wary of door-to-door leaflets asking for unwanted clothing.

There is currently a red and white flyer asking to collect clothes for a charity called ‘Breaking the Waves’. The website on the flyer does not exist and the telephone number provided does not connect. The police have some concerns and are currently investigating.

The only way to guarantee that donations benefit good causes is to deal only with charities you know are genuine, or take unwanted items direct to a charity shop.

Neil Derrick, Senior Enforcement Officer with South Gloucestershire Trading Standards, said: "Clothing collections are regularly conducted throughout the area and, although some are genuinely for charitable purposes, we have concerns that others are just done for commercial gain and that the public are being misled by false claims about the use to which their donations are put and the use of bogus company details."

If you are in any doubt about door-to-door flyers like this, or any others offering goods or services, contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.